Midwest Turkey Season is Rocking, Spring Lagging in the Northeast

The lower Midwest states are greening up nicely, and things are really starting to cook in the turkey woods all across the upper U.S. Photo by Images on the Wildside.

While compiling this week’s Strut Report, the general consensus is that some gobblers are still henned-up, which is pretty typical for this phase of the season. Some hunters are struggling to get birds to cooperate with calls and decoys, but other hunters are finding success on gobblers that are in the right frame of mind.

Nate Hosie of HeadHunters TV, for example, recently had a successful Missouri hunt. “The turkeys were gobbling hard from the roost,” he explained. “Then, they got henned-up shortly after hitting the ground. On Day 2, I got into a great setup and sang that love song. I yelped two toms right up a logging road and got one of them. It was a beautiful hunt in the Missouri hardwoods.”

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Contrarily, Kicking Bear Foundation’s Ray Howell said that Southeast Minnesota’s gobblers are still playing hard to get, just as they have been since the opener. When he and wife Krysta are hunting, they’re hunting the birds more like they would whitetails by setting up along travel routes within reasonable proximity of the roost in the mornings and afternoons. He said the gobblers have paid their decoys no attention, and he’s going to pull the jake decoy and use a solo hen.

Many Northeastern hunters are preparing for the May 1 openers. Carter Heath, the NWTF’s New England regional director, is among the hunters who’re chomping at the bit to hit the woods.

“Spring seems to be just now beginning in New England,” Heath said. “The birds have been in larger flocks for what seems like longer than usual, and given the painfully slow field green-up, they’ve primarily been seeking food sources back in the woods. Last week’s seasonably warm temperatures have brought the birds out, however. That being said, hunters who ‘burn some boot leather’ and hit new spots could be rewarded in the first week of May.”

Nate Hosie had a beautiful Missouri hunt when he yelped in two gobblers. Photo courtesy of Nate Hosie.

Justin Grimm, the NWTF’s Washington chapter vice president said that “birds are gobbling good. Hens are still being bred and laying, so they’re definitely keeping the dominant toms occupied. Our mild winter seems to have helped lower mortality rates.”

Rich Mann, the NWTF’s Washington chapter president, shared similar observations from his outings in Northeast Washington. “There is good gobbling on the roost,” he said. “Toms are still tending hens in the mornings. Hens are leaving about 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Some are answering calls. Others are slipping in silent. Minimize movement and be aware of your surroundings. Lots of toms were taken during the April youth season and the first week of the regular season.”

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I had a dynamite bow hunt on April 23 in Central Wisconsin. The toms gobbled minimally from the roost but flared up on the ground. I called a flock into the corn stubble field I was hunting. The hens entered first, and when the two gobblers saw my jake and laydown hen from 20 yards away, they began approaching briskly but suddenly changed their mind and rejoined the hens. They had been as close at 15 yards but weren’t in my ground blind window. They quit gobbling, but one of the toms strutted as the hens fed in the field.

Soon after, another tom began gobbling on and off in the distance. I assumed that he was alone and advertising, so I called loudly. I let him gobble two or three times before responding, playing hard to get. Eventually, he went silent, and the next thing I heard was spitting and drumming. I peered out the blind and saw him 10 yards away and coming in hot to my decoys. I arrowed him when he filled my blind window 8 yards away. He was an old bird with huge spurs and two beards, and my jake decoy sealed the deal.

Ryan Boyer, the NWTF’s regional biologist for Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, took his son hunting during Michigan’s youth hunt a little over a week ago. They had a successful hunt, and he explained that the birds were gobbling good on the roost and on the ground.

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Across the northern range of Boyer’s region, he said that the turkeys are currently still in larger flocks. “For hunting tactics, I’d suggest scouting to find the X,” he said. “Hunt where the turkeys are going to be based on your scouting observations. Also, be attentive to the birds’ behaviors. If you witness aggressive behaviors and you plan to use decoys, then you might mimic those behaviors with your decoy strategy. I expect lots of good gobbling activity over the next few weeks, and hunters I’ve spoken with have been enjoying some good success."

As for the henned-up gobblers, you can anticipate that to remain consistent over the next week or two until more hens begin nesting. As Boyer suggested, you’ll have to get in their wheelhouse right off the roost. I’m a proponent of using a jake decoy, and my Wisconsin hunt makes it obvious why. But if you’re nervous about using one, I’d suggest a feeding hen and a breeding-pose hen. Use your calls, and when a bird is gobbling but not coming closer, shut up; he might come in silent looking for you.

Have a blast in the turkey woods this week, and check back here next week.